[REVISION HISTORY]

Controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh

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2026-10-13 09:51 UTC → 2026-10-14 01:41 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) initiated an examination into an old case involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Following a directive from Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, officials began scrutinizing files related to alleged irregularities during Kumar’s 2006 tenure as PWD Secretary. This inquiry specifically concerns the alleged suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, whose suicide note reportedly named Kumar. As the controversy progressed, the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a historic resolution seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. Moved by Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan, the motion marks the first time an Indian state assembly has taken such action against a CEC. The resolution alleges that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls involved technical manipulations and software processes that bypassed Electoral Registration Officers, resulting in the wrongful removal of eligible voters, including minorities, migrant workers, and young voters. The assembly presented three primary demands: the immediate restoration of voting rights to excluded individuals, formal proceedings to remove Gyanesh Kumar due to concerns over institutional impartiality, and a reform of the selection committee for Election Commissioners to include the Chief Justice of India alongside the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. While supported by the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the resolution faced opposition from three BJP MLAs who questioned its legality and argued the matter should not be addressed while sub judice. New developments have emerged regarding the origins of the legislative action. CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal claimed that the resolution seeking Kumar’s removal was originally proposed by the Leader of the Opposition. Balagopal stated that the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) government later adopted the proposal and presented it as an official government resolution.

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